The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-05-28

God. That IS natural. M0St or us VINO
are here this morning have been moved
to abandon earthly companionships,
that we might sit down in some Sc
cluded place, and there the meGitations
have been undisturbed and sweet. The
soul has come very near to God, and the
great spiritual realm. When cares and
burdens press upon us, when sorrows
/ and bereavements come in like flood
to overwhelm us, there is an instinct
that beckons us apart from the ordi-
nary paths of life, to some secluded
spot, and God comes near, so near that
whisper can hardly get between us
and God. Here in this quiet atmos-
phere, the helpful influence of spiritual
presence is induced, and the tired soul
rests on the great heart of the Infinite.
If 1 were required to define happi-
ness, / should not exclude from my
definition the word repose. Not that
an individual cannot come to happiness
except in state of repose, but would
be understood as saying, that no indi-
vidual can be really happy to whom
repose is stranger. There is happi-
ness in that condition of the individ-
ual when all the powers are harmoni-
ously active, but complete happiness
depends in part, upon the ability to
discontinue these activities and move
away to the realm of repose. Children
who play out Of doors as long as they
can see, and then when called inside
must have innumerable playthings I'M
til the hour of retiring, and then must
have Mother Goose stories read to them
until they are asleep, cannot be said to
be happy children. Happiness depends
upon constant activity of body and
mind. A far happier child is one who
can enjoy play, and when called, can
quietly sit down at mothers side and
rest.
A certain degree of repose is neces-
sary to influence. st. Peter was rest
less man. He was an impulsive man.
1t was he that drew his sword and
smote the high priest, and it was he
that denied Christ. John was the op-
posite. He often reposed on the breast
of Jesus, and gained the appellation of
the beloved disciple. Martha, worry
ing about the house, and busy with
many cares and much serving, chose a
part inferior to that of Mary, who could
repose at the feet of the Master. That
condition Of repose must be what Jesus
meant by that "better part" With
| out occasional repose, no man can ma
ture knowledge, or arm himself with
the weapons of the gods. 1t is in re-
pose that great men forge the weapons
which demolish principalities and pow
ers, and master those principles which
are the foundations of thrones, empires,
and republics. The Divine refresh
ment needed, that we may endure the
heat and burden of the day, is secured
not in the market place, nor on the
street, nor in the office or store, but in
the realm of repose, where the soul sits
alone with God. Christ made much of
secret communion with God. This is
his language: "And when thou prayest,
enter into thy closet, and when thou
hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father
which is in secret, and thy Father which
seeth in secret shall reward thee openly
Consider that it is il these moments
of repose when all things are transfig-
ured. think if we comprehended fully
the blessings Of repose, we should stu
diously cultivate such moods. This
mountain scene that we have paused
by this morning, love to regard as a
revelation of that which is in store for
every one of us who strive for it. Nay,
the whole life of Jesus is representa-
tion of these possibilities that are hid
den away in every life, and to those
who are prepared for the vision, the
heavens will open, and we shall be per-
mitted to see, if not Moses and Elias,
then other glorious things. When the
Spirit of Truth dwelleth in man, the
spirit of truth which is the comforter,
the Holy Ghost, that man shall be
taught all things. He shall come to
visions and revelations. Paul speaks
of knowing such a man, whether in
the body or out of the body, he could
not tell. God only knoweth. He was
caught up into paradise, and heard un-
speakable things which it is not lawful
for man to utter. But Paul was true;
therefore the experience. Paul was
firm, where fear you and l would have
failed. He was reproached for the
truths sake, beaten with rods, in labors
abundant, often in prison, in perils by
robbers, and by the heather, and by
false brethren; in WEAKNESS, painful
ness, watchings; in hunger and thirst;
in HASTINGS, and cold, and nakedness.
He was loyal to the spirit of truth, the
promptings of the Holy Ghost, so he
was permitted to come to visions and
revelations. o, Fidelity thou art one
of the constituent elements in the
Christian life BY it the soul is brought
;,Eo ,,;fu NTH God Tuof fhnoa